About this course: Learners will be introduced to the problems that vision faces, using perception as a guide. The course will consider how what we see is generated by the visual system, what the central problem for vision is, and what visual perception indicates about how the brain works. The evidence will be drawn from neuroscience, psychology, the history of vision science and what philosophy has contributed. Although the discussions will be informed by visual system anatomy and physiology, the focus is on perception. We see the physical world in a strange way, and goal is to understand why.
Created by: Duke University
Taught by: Dale Purves, M.D.
Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Background
20 videos, 4 readings
- Reading: About the Course
- Reading: Grading Policy
- Video: Course Introduction
- Reading: Feedback surveys
- Video: Background: What We Actually See
- Video: The Strange Way We See the Physical World (part 1)
- Video: The Strange Way We See the Physical World (part 2)
- Video: The Inverse Problem
- Video: Summary of Topic One
- Video: Visual Stimuli
- Video: Making an Image
- Video: Summary of Topic Two
- Video: The Eye (part 1)
- Video: The Eye (part 2)
- Video: The Retina (part 1)
- Video: The Retina (Part 2)
- Video: The Primary Visual Pathway (part 1)
- Video: The Primary Visual Pathway (part 2)
- Video: The Visual Cortex (part 1)
- Video: The Visual Cortex (part 2)
- Video: The Concept of Receptive Fields
- Video: Summary of Topic Three
- Video: Summary of Module One
- Reading: Module Feedback Survey
Graded: Module1, Topic 1
Graded: Module 1, Topics 2-3
WEEK 2
Seeing Lightness, Darkness and Color
17 videos, 1 reading
- Video: Definitions
- Video: Discrepancies between Luminance and Lightness
- Video: More Complex Examples as Counter Evidence
- Video: An Empirical Explanation Based on Accumulated Experience (part 1)
- Video: An Empirical Explanation Based on Accumulated Experience (part 2)
- Video: Summary of Topic One
- Video: Definitions
- Video: Light and Color
- Video: How the Retina Initiates Color Vision (part 1)
- Video: How the Retina Initiates Color Vision (part 2)
- Video: Why Do We Have Color Vision?
- Video: Describing Color Perception
- Video: The Strange Way We See Color
- Video: An Empirical Answer (part 1)
- Video: An Empirical Answer (part 2)
- Video: Topic Summary
- Video: Module Summary
- Reading: Module Feedback Survey
Graded: Module 2, Topic 1
Graded: Module 2, Topic 2
WEEK 3
Seeing Space
19 videos, 1 reading
- Video: Geometrical “Illusions”
- Video: The Inverse Problem in Geometry
- Video: Seeing the Length of Lines
- Video: An Empirical Explanation of Apparent Line Length (part 1)
- Video: An Empirical Explanation of Apparent Line Length (part 2)
- Video: The Perception of Angles
- Video: An Empirical Explanation
- Video: Seeing Object Size
- Video: An Empirical Explanation
- Video: Topic Summary
- Video: Definitions
- Video: Seeing Distance with One Eye
- Video: Seeing Depth with Two Eyes (Stereopsis, part 1)
- Video: Seeing Depth with Two Eyes (Stereopsis, part 2)
- Video: Explaining Stereopsis
- Video: Random Dot Stereograms and the Correspondence Problem
- Video: Binocular Fusion (part 1)
- Video: Binocular Fusion (part 2)
- Video: Topic Summary
- Reading: Module Feedback Survey
Graded: Module 3, Topic 1
Graded: Module 3, Topic 2
WEEK 4
Seeing Motion
9 videos, 1 reading
- Video: Definitions
- Video: Phenomena that Need Explaining
- Video: Apparent Motion
- Video: Motion After Effects
- Video: The Inverse Problem for Motion
- Video: Perceived Speed: The Flash-Lag Effect
- Video: An Empirical Explanation of the Flash-Lag Effect
- Video: Perceived Direction: Aperture Effects
- Video: An Empirical Explanation
- Reading: Module Feedback Survey
Graded: Module 4
WEEK 5
Summing Up
11 videos, 1 reading
- Video: Alternative Conceptions of Vision
- Video: Vision as Feature Detection (part 1)
- Video: Vision as Feature Detection (part 2)
- Video: Vision as Inference (part 1)
- Video: Vision as Inference (part 2)
- Video: Vision as Efficient Coding
- Video: Vision as Way of Contending with the Inverse Problem
- Video: Topic Summary
- Video: Does the Brain Work by Computing?
- Video: Or is the Brain an Engine of Reflex Associations?
- Video: Some Concluding Remarks
- Reading: Module Feedback Survey
Graded: Module 5, Topic 1
Graded: Module 5, Topic 2
Graded: Peer Review
FAQs
How It Works
Coursework
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
Help from Your Peers
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Certificates
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Creators
Duke University
Duke University has about 13,000 undergraduate and graduate students and a world-class faculty helping to expand the frontiers of knowledge. The university has a strong commitment to applying knowledge in service to society, both near its North Carolina campus and around the world.
Ratings and Reviews
A revelation...
This course gave me another view at the problem of visual perception. The course relates more to psychology than to medicine. Essay writing is mandatory for the completion of the course. Thanks to Professor Purves and his team from the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences.
Hard topics but easy explained or illustrated.
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Ótimo curso! O professor é excelente, explica muito bem, tornando todas as aulas muito interessantes.